


Orange Dawn

by RedKingKelly



Category: Naruto
Genre: (Naruto doesn't know the meaning of the word compromise), AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But nobody wants to die under a genjutsu either, Ensemble Cast, Gen, TOBI IS A GOOD BOY, The Akatsuki aren't particularly good people, friendship no jutsu, obviously, talk no jutsu, they compromise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 12:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25969540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedKingKelly/pseuds/RedKingKelly
Summary: Pein does not agree with Madara's vision for the world: his goal has always been true peace. For that to happen, the ancient Uchiha must be disposed of, and to do that, Pein needs more power than he currently has; he needs the power of the Great Shinobi Villages. However to get them to believe him, he needs a certain someone's 'friendship no jutsu' skills. He needs Uzumaki Naruto.
Relationships: Akatsuki & Uchiha Sasuke, Akatsuki & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Hoozuki Suigetsu & Juugo & Karin & Uchiha Sasuke, Nagato | Pain & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	1. Kidnappings

The day that the Akatsuki kidnapped Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto was the day that the fate of the world was sealed.

This particular abduction had been a bitch to pull off, if you asked Hōzuki Suigetsu. He hadn't expected to feel guilty about it for one thing. When he'd followed Sasuke back to Konoha from Oto, he hadn't thought that he would find friends in the village or feel any loyalty towards the place. But he had, on both accounts.

Naruto, who he'd only known as that Kyūbi no jinchūriki who kept following Sasuke around, had turned out to be one of the best friends he'd ever had (not that there'd been many). There was Tenten, who was the first person since Mangetsu who understood his dream of owning each of the Seven Swords. He couldn't leave out Lee, who had to be the most unintentionally hilarious person that Suigetsu had ever met. And of course, Sasuke, who was still an ice cold prick, but who was somehow less of one in the presence of his blond teammate.

Even Tsunade, who had let the Uchiha back into Konoha along with his new team: Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin. She was hands down the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, as well as the best kunoichi. And In Suigetsu's humble opinion, Tsunade-hime deserved his respect, firstly for giving them all a chance, _and_ because she could totally kick their asses if they fucked up.

So yeah, Suigetsu felt guilty about conspiring with the Akatsuki to kidnap Tsunade-hime's favourite genin, who also happened to be a favourite of many Konoha shinobi. Even though _he_ knew that the new Akatsuki meant him no harm, the Konohans didn't, and he wasn't allowed to tell them. He had to lie to his new village, and when they found out his part in it – because they _would_ find out – Suigetsu had to hope that they would see his reasons, and know that he didn't want to hurt them. He really did like his new home in Konoha and prayed like hell that the plan Kisame-senpai told him about would work.

After all the fucking complicated planning this thing had taken, the goddamned plan _better_ work.

Suigetsu also felt a shit-ton of guilt pile on top of him when Naruto's betrayed blue eyes met his own, just before he succumbed to unconsciousness. Seriously, the kid's eyes should be made illegal. _'It'll be alright though,'_ Suigetsu assured himself. _'When Pein explains everything, he'll see why I did it. I can apologise the next time I see him, and that will be that.'_

This did nothing to diminish the guilty feeling.

Which only doubled when he turned away from where Kisame was holding Naruto (he felt so guilty that he didn't even try a token attempt to steal Samehada!) and instead saw Itachi holding an unconscious Sasuke. Who had predictably flown into a rage upon seeing his older brother seemingly roaming the streets of Hi no Kuni, lost his legendary cool and dragged Naruto into the resulting fight. Suigetsu had to admit, they made a great team. They'd done much better against the S-rank nukenin than he'd thought they would. But Kisame-senpai and Itachi had won, and Naruto had seen him.

Oh, who was he kidding, the whole thing was going to turn out to be a giant clusterfuck, he could feel it now. But Suigetsu would go along with the plan, and hopefully Naruto would forgive him enough to save his ass from Tsunade-hime and Sasuke (not to mention Sakura and Karin) when they learned of his role in it.

"We'll be going now, Suigetsu-kun." Itachi's monotonous voice interrupted his musing.

Kisame chuckled. "Are you sure you don't need any help to make it look like you got a beating, kōhai?"

Suigetsu scowled at the shark-nin. "I'm fine, thanks, Senpai. But you should get going. Naruto won't stay out for long." He couldn't stop his eyes from darting to the unconscious blond.

The sinister smirk that appeared on Kisame's face brought an uneasy feeling to Suigetsu's stomach. This, unfortunately, was a common occurrence when dealing with Kisame.

"Looking a little worried there, baby shark. Is there something you've been keeping from me, my little kōhai?"

Suigetsu blinked. Choked a little. Blinked again. And then he gagged as what Kisame was suggesting sank in.

Kisame, who was laughing uproariously at his disgusted expression. Kisame, who was going to die by his own sword as soon as Suigetsu could get his hands on it.

"What the hell?! Am I not allowed to be worried about my friends?!" Suigetsu paused, a lecherous look sliding onto his face. "Then again, if Naruto was a girl _and_ looked like his Oiroke, you can bet your blade I would be all over that!"

Because damn but Naruko was one sexy piece of ass.

"We need to be going, Kisame. Suigetsu-kun is right, Naruto-kun will not stay unconscious for long." Itachi interrupted whatever Kisame – that perverted asshole – was going to say.

Suigetsu suddenly felt panicked – what if Naruto hated him when he woke up? The blond boy had been so friendly and welcoming when they'd come back with Sasuke, Suigetsu really didn't want to lose him.

"Tell him I'm sorry, for whatever it's worth, when he wakes up, will you?" He aimed his request at Itachi, who was the one more likely to pass on his pathetic little message. God, but Konoha had made him soft.

Itachi however, just nodded and turned to leave, Sasuke slung across his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"I hope your acting skills are up to the job, kid." Kisame told Suigetsu. "Or Tsunade is going to punch you right out of her office and into Ibiki's. And don't forget to give her the message."

Suigetsu gulped, but nodded anyway. Tsunade-hime was one scary woman. "Don't worry Senpai, I've got this!"

* * *

Tsunade looked at the ex-Kiri/Oto nin in front of her, barely able to believe what he was telling her. He'd come stumbling in the gates, alone, rambling about needing 'to see Tsunade-hime, he was so sorry, and no he was not gay, dammit!' She had no clue what the last bit was about, but she'd rushed straight to the hospital as soon as she heard.

Thankfully, he'd already been healed – with his kekkei genkai, there wasn't much to heal – and so was able to give his report as soon as she'd walked in the door.

Except he couldn't tell her where her favourite brat was, why the Akatsuki wanted him, or how they'd gotten so lucky as to nab both the last Uchiha and the Kyūbi no jinchūriki at the same time. Tsunade had her suspicions, but the fact was that Suigetsu was completely loyal to Uchiha Sasuke, and possibly to Naruto as well. So, whether he was involved or not, he wouldn't tell her anything unless he thought they would be in danger.

Of course, Tsunade couldn't think of a reason why Naruto _wouldn't_ be in danger whilst in the Akatsuki's hands, but if Kisame had bothered to give Suigetsu a message to pass along, then it was probably important.

"Let's hear it, then," she said impatiently. "What'd the shark bastard say?"

Tsunade saw the stifled smirk on Suigetsu's face, but said nothing. At her raised eyebrow, however, Suigetsu hastily said, "Well, uh, Tsunade-hime, he told me to tell you that Sasuke and Naruto would remain unharmed as long as you didn't send anybody after them. If you did, then somebody named Leader-sama would send you both their heads in a box."

"He said _what?!_ "

The sword maniac paled. "He said, uh, don't send anybody after them?"

"Let me get this straight. I'm supposed to believe that the Akatsuki are keeping Sasuke and Naruto alive somewhere, holding onto them for some higher purpose, and I'm supposed to just sit here and do nothing!?" Her voice had risen to a roar by the end of her tirade. "And I suppose I just have to trust that this 'Leader' isn't going to just extract the Kyūbi and send me Naruto's head back anyway!?"

"Am I supposed to answer that?" Suigetsu back-pedaled quickly when he saw her face. "Okay, rhetorical question, got it."

Tsunade sighed deeply, slowly soothing her thoughts and slumping into a chair next to the younger nin's bed. What she wouldn't do to have Naruto bounding around, annoying the shit out of everybody. Why did she have to get attached to the biggest trouble magnet in all the Elemental Nations?

Suigetsu felt his guilt increase yet again as he saw the downcast expression on Tsunade-hime's face. He really wished he could just tell her everything, but the whole plan banked on Naruto knowing the new plan and using his 'friendship no jutsu' skills to convince everybody else. Nobody else would even give the plan a chance if Naruto wasn't the one endorsing it.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, Tsunade-hime." Suigetsu apologised quietly. It was the truth. He wasn't directly saying _what_ , exactly, he was sorry for, but the apology was sincere. Maybe being accepted into Konoha had made him soft, but he reckoned it was worth it. These people really were something. All friendship and loyalty and acceptance. Well, the shinobi anyway, and who gave a fuck about what the civvies thought.

The blonde Hokage gave him a tired smile. "It's alright, Suigetsu. I know you would never allow any true harm to come to Sasuke or Naruto if you could help it."

That… was about as direct as his apology had been. Tsunade suspected something. She suspected him already! But, she wasn't interrogating him. Or punching his lights out.

That meant that she at least trusted him to always have the safety of the two boys in mind. Or something like that anyway, shit, his mind wasn't used to all this stress and thinking. That bitch Karin could say what she wanted about his intelligence, but Suigetsu understood one thing at least; Tsunade was trusting him here. And he couldn't let her down.

"Damn right, Tsunade-hime! I'm sure wherever they are now, Naruto is giving his captors hell! We'll get them both back, you'll see."

* * *

The first thing Naruto saw when he woke up, was a weirdo freak with – admittedly cool - spiky orange hair and a shit ton of facial piercings.

The first thing he realized, was that he was sitting tied to an – admittedly comfortable – interrogation-type chair (by which he meant it was big and wooden and had armrests).

The first thing he remembered, was that he'd been fighting alongside Sasuke and Suigetsu, against the – admittedly too strong – infamous nukenin Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame.

The last thing he remembered, before he finally passed out, was Suigetsu's guilty face.

"That bastard! Imma kill him! Oh man, I'm gonna kick his ass all over Hi no Kuni if he doesn't have a fucking good explanation for this!"

Naruto's outburst seemed to have no effect on his weirdo watch guard. And that reminded him.

"Oi! Who the hell are you anyway? Why am I here?"

No answer. But then Naruto noticed something else. A familiar black and red – and not Sharingan related – something else.

"Ah! You're Akatsuki! Where am I? Why am I not dead and Kyūbi-free? Answer me, dammit!"

A cool, analytical gaze (and holy SHIT, what was up with those eyes? Seriously, _another_ dōjutsu?) swept him from head to toe. He didn't know how useful that was, as he was sitting down, but it wasn't like Naruto could stop him.

"I am Pein, leader of Akatsuki. You are in one of our mountain bases." Well that explained why the freakin' walls looked like they were made of rock. "You are not dead and Kyūbi-free because I wished to speak with you."

Well. Even the weirdo's voice was creepy sounding. Man, he was all serious and dead-faced, and then he talked and it was like holy shit dude, you even sound dead. And speaking of dead…

"WHERE'S SASUKE?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?!"

"Uchiha Sasuke is alive. He, like yourself, is being kept restrained in a separate room."

Okay, at least the bastard was alive, if what piercing-guy said was true. But why? Why keep them both alive, why capture them both in the first place, and _why the hell would the leader of Akatsuki want to speak with him?!_

Naturally, he voiced these questions at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THE HELL MAN, COULDN'T YOU JUST ASK TO TALK TO ME?! WAS THE KIDNAPPING REALLY NECESSARY?! AND WHY THE FUCK WAS SUIGETSU HELPING YOU?!"

Pein – and what the hell kinda name was that anyway – looked as though he was debating answering him or not. That wouldn't do; Naruto needed answers right now, even if it took a while to ask the right questions. So, more quietly now, he asked, "Could you please tell me what on earth is going on right now?"

Nagato would never tell anybody, but the befuddled and slightly pleading look that the Kyūbi no jinchūriki had on his face right then touched his heart more than anything else had for years. He sighed.

"Your friend Suigetsu passed along a message for you to Itachi. He would like you to know that he is sorry, for whatever it's worth. Itachi informs me that he was completely sincere."

Naruto scrunched his face up in thought. For some reason, his gut was telling him that everything this guy was saying, was the truth. And he always trusted his gut – it hadn't led him wrong yet. So Suigetsu was sorry, was he? He would be even sorrier when Naruto got his hands on him, dattebayo! That sharky-bastard better get ready for an asskicking like he'd never felt before!

"Did he help you? Was Suigetsu involved in me and Sasuke getting kidnapped?"

"Yes."

Bah. What an asshole. "Did he know that you apparently aren't about to kill me?"

"Yes."

Well, there was that, at least. Maybe he wouldn't kick Suigetsu all over Hi no Kuni. Just most of it.

"So what'd you want to talk to me about?" Naruto felt like he should be leaning back, hands linked behind his head. Unfortunately, he was tied to a goddamn chair. "And could you maybe untie me?"

Nagato considered silently. He could see that the young jinchūriki's eyes were burning, a sure sign that he would soon attempt to escape the chakra ropes holding him in the chair. He would likely be in a fighting mood if he had to rip his way out of the restraints, and Nagato needed him to be calm and able to listen. He flicked his wrist and the ropes fell to the ground.

Naruto immediately stretched his arms above his head, sighing in satisfaction as his shoulders popped. Then he slumped back in the chair, hands linked at the back of his skull. "Start talkin' buddy."

He watched as the supposed leader of Akatsuki moved closer to where he was sitting. It was uncomfortable, being so close to somebody wearing one of those stupid cloaks, and not fighting them or running away, but he would hear what Pein – seriously, that name! – had to say.

The orange-haired man paused abruptly. "Would you like to take this discussion outside?"

"Huh? Well alright." Naruto stood and followed Pein, confused but kinda relieved to get out of that creepy dark rock room at the same time. Hey, if he had been inside a mountain this whole time, did that mean he was technically already outside? Did being in a mountain count as being inside?

He mused on this as the leader-guy led him (hah, the leader was leading him) through a bunch of twists and turns in a pretty cool tunnel system. Naruto was fairly certain they were taking the long way, coz there were no more rock rooms in the tunnels, and he assumed a secret base would have more than one room, and the tunnels wouldn't go nowhere. Either way, he had no clue where he was or how to get back to where he'd started from (not that he wanted to go back to his little rock room that he'd just realized was probably an interrogation cell).

Just as Naruto was starting to get impatient with the repetitive walls of rough, dark rock (barely ten minutes had passed), he saw a light shining up ahead. He took a deep breath in through his nose, finding the air to be fresher, cleaner. They'd been moving upwards, so either they had reached the not-underground-anymore point, or Pein was going to push him out of a freakin' hole in the wall. Did mountains have walls? Like outside, not the tunnel walls.

Well whatever, whether they did or not, Naruto would rather not be thrown off (or out of) a mountain. Using chakra to stick was a bitch when you were falling at such a high speed ( _'thanks a lot for teaching me that lesson, Ero-Sennin,'_ Naruto thought grumpily) and summoning Gamabunta was always risky.

Luckily for him, Naruto found himself following Pein out of the tunnel and into a huge cavern that looked as though it had a short exit tunnel to the outside. The proper outside, where there weren't massive pointy rock spikes hanging off the ceiling. Or y'know, a ceiling at all.

The walls in the cavern weren't rough like those in the tunnels; instead, they looked as though they'd been sanded down until they were perfectly smooth. Naruto was pretty sure rocks weren't made like that naturally, and he had no idea why somebody would choose to spend all that time sanding down a mountain, but to each their own, he guessed.

When the two shinobi finally emerged into the sunlight, Naruto whooped and dashed past his escort, falling on his back in the center of the small clearing that the mountain tunnel lead out to. The sun was shining through the trees, so either he'd only been out for a couple of hours, or at least one whole night. Naruto smiled happily at the feel of warm dappled sunlight on his face and fresh air in his lungs.

He sat back up when he heard footfalls moving closer to him. Pein, looking stoic and somehow not ridiculous at all, sank down to the ground and sat cross-legged facing him.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the orange-haired man began. "You have proved to be a force to be reckoned with in this shinobi world of ours. We of the Akatsuki have been keeping an eye on you for years, watching you gain the respect and friendship of many, including the youngest Uchiha. You are an anomaly, and that is why I desire your aid."

Naruto listened intently, oddly focused in a way that he rarely was. He startled when Pein admitted to needing his help, sure that he'd misheard. The Akatsuki needed his help because he was good at making friends? Because he'd made friends with the bastard? Pein seemed to sense his confusion, because his stoic face shifted, amusement shining for a brief instant in his freaky purple eyes.

"I will tell you my story, Uzumaki Naruto, and you will know my pain. Maybe when you hear my dream, you will know why I need you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally crossposting from FFNet! I'm lazy and cbf doing it all at once tho lol so here's the first chapter only ^_^; I started this when I was in high school (and then lost inspo which is why it's still not done), so you might notice a change in the writing quality or style or whatever. Hope y'all are safe and healthy out there<3


	2. Waiting

Sasuke, like Naruto, awoke tied to a chair, with the last thing he remembered being Naruto laying out cold on the ground after a blow to the head from Samehada. Sasuke had been infuriated (and worried, not that he'd ever admit it. It took a lot to knock the dobe out, what with his thick head) and it'd cost him. Itachi had taken advantage of his distraction, and now he was who knew where, for who knew what reason.

And… where was Naruto? And Suigetsu?

Sasuke couldn't deny the frantic pace that his heart set at the thought of his two… friends. Subordinate and teammate.

 _Fine!_ They were his fucking _friends_ (even his own traitorous brain stressed the word to him) and if Sasuke didn't find out where they were and what condition they were in soon, he would raze the place to the ground.

Wherever the 'place' was.

"Ah, so you're awake, Little Uchiha." The always mocking voice of Hoshigaki Kisame met Sasuke's ears, and he scowled. The large ex-Kiri nin was somebody he would not have enjoyed dealing with, even if he wasn't partnered with Itachi.

Sasuke refused to allow any of his thoughts to show on his face. His pale features were smooth, dark eyes carefully blank.

Kisame took note of the boy's not-quite hidden emotions. While his blank mask was quite impressive for a sixteen year old, he had nothing on Itachi. And right now, Sasuke's anger and concern were burning quite clearly in his eyes.

"The jinchūriki and Suigetsu-chan are fine, Little Uchiha. Or at least, they were the last time I saw them."

Kisame's blasé words were not at all comforting to Sasuke. Had Naruto and Suigetsu also been kidnapped, or had they been left behind? It made no sense for Sasuke himself to have been captured though. Naruto, at least, was the Kyūbi no jinchūriki, one of the Akatsuki's prime targets.

And Sasuke, he thought, his stomach clenching uncomfortably, had lead his best friend right to them, blind with rage and completely ignoring the danger he'd put the blond in. What if they were in the process of extracting the Kyūbi right this minute? What if Naruto was dying while Sasuke was sitting trapped here in this stupid chair? He had zero faith in any words spoken by Itachi's partner.

The Uchiha flexed as best he could in his restraints, testing the give in them. There was none. Sasuke wasn't tied by rope, or even chakra repressors. He had literal restraints tying him down, strips of leather buckling his arms and legs to those of the chair. The keen eyesight possessed by all Uchiha, even without the Sharingan active, allowed Sasuke to pick out the seals sewn into them.

Kisame chuckled, causing Sasuke to grit his teeth in aggravation. "Either tell me what you obviously came here to say, or get out."

The blue skinned nukenin held up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. You're about as much fun as Itachi is." He continued before Sasuke could verbalize the outrage he felt at being compared to That Man. "I was just sent to tell you that we didn't bring you or the jinchūriki here to hurt you. You're perfectly safe, right where you are."

That last part was obviously a jab at Sasuke's discomfort in the restraints, but it was ignored.

"You said you didn't bring Naruto or me here to hurt us." Sasuke stated, panic rising in his gut.

"Yes?" Kisame said questioningly, clearly knowing exactly where Sasuke was going with this.

Sasuke thought he could literally feel all his panic and worry coalescing together to form a tidal wave of fury that was surely going to cause his chest to explode any moment now. Uchihas never had learned how to deal with the more selfless emotions properly.

However, Uchihas who happened to be best friends with an Uzumaki… Well they were exposed to the selfless nature of the idiots every day. So Sasuke drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, regaining control of the tide of emotions.

"Where," he said through gritted teeth. "Is Suigetsu?"

"Oh, Suigetsu-chan? Is that what you're worried about, Little Uchiha?" Kisame's condescending tone was putting Sasuke in a murderous mood. Only big blue fish men dead at his feet would sate his rage. "He's fine," Kisame shrugged casually. "We sent him on his way back to Konoha, alive and unharmed. I didn't even take Kubikiribocho off of him."

Sasuke felt clear, sharp relief lance through him (not that he would ever admit it), only for confusion to follow soon after. They had sent him back to Konoha? What the fuck for?

His confusion must have shown, because Kisame grinned mockingly. "Somebody had to give the old hag our demands."

Demands? What demands? Had- _had they been taken HOSTAGE?_

Sasuke's rage was reaching new heights as he twitched in his restraints. How _dare_ they? What did they even want with Naruto and himself? That didn't even make sense! Akatsuki wanted the Kyūbi, and Naruto had to die for that to happen. Itachi wanted to kill Sasuke for whatever fucked up reasons he had – enough said. _WHY WERE THERE DEMANDS IF THEY WERE BOTH GOING TO BE KILLED?!_ Demands made it sound like they would be returned.

Sasuke scoffed. Not fucking likely.

"You can screw off with your lies, Hoshigaki." Despite his inner rage, Sasuke's reply was calm.

Kisame simply shrugged. "If you don't believe me, that's fine, mini-Itachi." He paused, clearly savoring the way Sasuke had jerked at the nickname. "But you and the blond brat are here for a reason, and until you calm down enough to listen, you aren't going to find out what it is."

And with that, he turned and left, closing the heavy iron door behind him. Sasuke was left alone in semi-darkness, trying not to think the worst.

* * *

Itachi frowned pensively at the door that hid his precious otōto from his sight. Sasuke was mere feet away, and yet Itachi had never felt a bigger distance between them; not even on the night of the massacre.

He had never, not in any one of his contingency plans, expected that he would have to tell Sasuke the truth of what had happened that night. Itachi had never wanted Sasuke to know how far their clan had fallen, nor anything about their mad ancestor still living.

The whole point of Itachi's life was to keep his precious otōto safe. Even his one selfish request, asking Sasuke to kill him, to redeem the Uchiha Clan, had been engineered to make Sasuke more powerful and able to take care of himself.

And now Itachi would be tearing down all of the preconceptions that Sasuke had, flipping the boy's entire world on its head. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, Itachi was certain it would be a weight off his shoulders to finally get it all out in the open. On the other hand, he wasn't sure that Sasuke wouldn't still hate him.

Just because he had somewhat justifiable reasons, didn't mean Itachi wasn't still a clan-killer, after all.

* * *

"How long do you think he's going to just stand there?"

Tobi tilted his head in consideration. That was a difficult question to answer. Itachi-san usually had good reasons for doing the things that he did, but this time even Tobi could tell that his actions were pointless. He was simply standing in the center of the corridor, gazing dispassionately at the door to little Sasuke-san's cell.

"Hmm…" Tobi hummed, flicking a glance up at Zetsu-san through his mask. "Maybe right up until Leader-sama says it's alright for him to go in?"

Zetsu-san's black half ( _mean_ half, Tobi thought petulantly) sniggered. "Probably," he agreed. "Who would have thought that Uchiha Itachi was the hovering type?"

Tobi bounced on the balls of his feet, clapping his hands together with glee. "Itachi-san is such a kind brother!" He gushed, conveniently forgetting that he had been present when Itachi psychologically tortured his brother by making him watch the systematic massacre of their entire family.

On repeat.

For seventy-two hours.

Black Zetsu snorted. "Kind, my ass." He muttered, unheard over the enthusiastic agreements of his white half.

"Do you think we should get some things to make him more comfortable?" Tobi pondered, tapping a finger against his mask.

Luckily, before Zetsu had to shoot that idea down (Itachi would definitely not appreciate it), two very familiar voices came echoing down the corridor.

"Come on, Sasori no Danna! Leader-sama says he doesn't care if I teach the new kids my art!"

And the other:

"Get fucked, Kakuzu! You made us come the long way round, just so you could collect that fucking pitiful bounty! That shit wasn't even worth it!"

Tobi perked up, forgetting Itachi's lone vigil altogether. "Deidara-senpai!"

He went careening down the corridor, swinging around the corner like the maniac he was. Zetsu wondered when Tobi would remember that he could travel through dimensions in an instant.

* * *

Sasuke was seething. It felt like it had been hours since Kisame had left him, and Sasuke was still thinking of ways to gut the bastard. What was with all that cryptic shit anyway? What possible reason could the Akatsuki have for keeping Naruto and himself prisoner?

Ransom wasn't even an option; when ninja kidnapped other ninja, it was either for information or to gain their power for themselves (usually with kekkei genkai users). Seeing as Akatsuki already had one Sharingan user in That Man, they would have no use for Sasuke. And Naruto had a ridiculous amount of chakra, but they could get that simply by ripping the Kyūbi out of him.

So why were they still alive?

Just then, the door slid open and a figure clad in that stupid cloak slipped inside, closing the door again silently behind them.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded. "What do you want?"

The figure stepped forward out of the shadows, and Sasuke recoiled as much he could when he saw that it was a woman. A pretty woman, he admitted grudgingly to himself, with deep blue hair and watchful amber eyes. He wasn't sure if it was sexist of him to be surprised at the presence of a kunoichi in a missing-nin organization, although it probably was (and he'd had previous experience with kunoichi nukenin anyway). It just seemed odd to him, that she was a comrade of That Man's.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the woman spoke in a clear, unemotional voice. "My name is Konan. I am second-in-command of the Akatsuki."

So she was Itachi's boss. It was an even stranger thought.

"What do you want?" Sasuke repeated impatiently.

"I am here to inform you that your companion, Uzumaki Naruto, has been released from his confines. He is currently in discussion with our Leader, regarding our reasons for keeping you both here. You will not be allowed to see him until you too have heard those reasons."

Sasuke couldn't detect a lie in her voice. He couldn't detect anything; Konan's voice was completely neutral. But he didn't think she was lying (he hoped she wasn't lying). Even if it made absolutely zero sense to him, it made even less sense to lie about something as ridiculous as that. It would have been easier to gain their trust via lying if they had been kept together, as some kind of gesture.

"So are you going to tell me your reasons?" He may as well go along with the insanity; after all, being the dobe's best friend meant he had a lot of practice at that.

Konan blinked at him. "No." Before Sasuke could lose his temper at her, she continued. "There is someone else who will be coming to explain everything to you. Remember, you must stay calm and listen, or else you will remain in this cell until all is said and done."

She left without another word, not allowing Sasuke to question her anymore; who was going to explain? Why couldn't she do it, did it really matter that much? And why was Naruto allowed out while they explained it all to him, and Sasuke had to stay in this dingy little underground cell?

He was sick of having only questions and no answers.


	3. Connections

"So, when can I see Sasuke-teme?"

Konan eyed the blonde teenager lying sprawled on the grass next to her. He was utterly relaxed, blue eyes focused on the equally blue sky, not a hint of wariness present in his entire body.

She wasn't certain what to think of that.

"When Itachi has convinced him of our intentions." She told him for the seventh time.

Naruto scrunched his face up, saying, "I still don't get why Itachi's gotta be the one to tell Sasuke everything. Sasuke's not gonna listen to anything he says."

"You don't need to understand it. You just need to be patient and accept it."

Konan secretly agreed though; it would surely take more time than they had available for Itachi to explain the entire situation to his brother in a way that Sasuke would believe. They had been as subtle as they could in their planning, but the kidnapping of the young Uzumaki and Uchiha would not stay a secret for long. They only had a limited time before Madara figured out what they were up to, and when he did…

Konan shivered. She knew and understood exactly what they were risking here, but in order to realize Nagato's – _Yahiko's_ – dream of peace, the ancient Uchiha had to go. Even if that meant waging war against him and delaying peace just a little longer.

"Nee-chan?"

Konan blinked. She still wasn't used to Naruto's way of addressing her. They had only met a few hours ago, and already he spoke so familiarly.

"What is it?" She replied.

Naruto rolled over to face her, a questioning expression on his face. "What am I gonna do while Sasuke's locked up? Can I train up here?"

Oh, right.

"Yes, of course," she informed the younger shinobi. "There are several inside caves that can be utilized for training, or spaces outside for anything particularly destructive." Now, to tell him the rest, or wait? It was probably best to inform him now; the teenager seemed to prefer the direct route for everything. "And Pein-sama has decided that should you desire it, all members of Akatsuki are to help you with your training."

"Huh? You mean you're all going to be my sensei?" Naruto's beautiful eyes were wide with delight.

"If that is what you want. I doubt that anybody will wish to be called such, though."

Naruto laughed. "That's alright. Akatsuki is full of S-Class shinobi, right? That means I'm going to become way stronger with all of your help!"

Konan couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips. "I am not certain that they will all be happy about it," she cautioned. "You will likely have to work hard to convince them."

He just laughed again. "That's alright!" He repeated. "I had to convince Ero-Sennin as well, it wasn't that hard. Stupid pervert…"

The muttered comment at the end had Konan's lips twitching again. Jiraiya-sensei truly had not changed. She wondered if Naruto would find it strange if she asked about her old teacher's wellbeing.

"Ero-Sennin…" She drew the name out amusedly. "It is a fitting nickname." Deep amber eyes watched as brighter ones lit up even more in delighted agreement.

"I know, right!" Naruto nodded emphatically. "He always tells me that it's not appropriate for one of the _'great Sannin'_ ," he made a face at the title, scrunching up his whiskered cheeks. "But I think it describes him perfectly- hey!" Konan smiled serenely, smothering the giggle that wanted to escape at the boy's sudden confusion. "How would you know if it fit him or not?"

"It is a well-known fact that Jiraiya of the Sannin is the author of the famous Icha Icha series." She informed him, not letting her amusement show.

He ran a hand through his blond hair, eyes still narrowed at her. "I guess…"

"Of course, it is less well-known that he had another book published, long before he ever began to write that smut."

Konan hid a smile as the boy bolted upright, pointing at her accusingly. "How d'you know about that?!" He demanded. "Even I didn't know about it until recently!"

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was there as he was writing it?"

The suspicious squint that Naruto sent her way told Konan that the answer was 'no'. She chuckled.

"It's true. Yahiko, Nagato, and I were the first students that Jiraiya ever had." It felt strange, to say her friends' names aloud. But it was nice, to be able to acknowledge Yahiko's existence as a person, instead of simply as one of the Paths of Pein.

Nagato truly had told the Uzumaki boy (almost) everything, and it had paid off. The most charismatic person on the planet was now firmly on their side.

And he was staring at her like she was crazy. "I thought you guys were from Ame?" Naruto asked confusedly.

Konan smiled. "We are," she assured him. "But we did not originally learn ninja skills from our village. Jiraiya-sensei took pity on three starving orphans, and stayed with us for a good long while." Her smiled gained a nostalgic hint as she thought back to those days of fun, and laughter, and friendship.

"Really?" The squint was gone, replaced with wide-eyed wonder. "But you guys are really strong, right? So Ero-Sennin must actually be a good teacher, if he taught you and Nagato-nii, and the Yondaime, and _me_."

Humble, the boy was not, Konan thought dryly. But he was honest, and that was all that mattered.

"Jiraiya-sensei was indeed a good teacher," was her honest reply. "Without him, none of the three of us would have made it, and Ame would likely still be a war-torn wasteland."

It was sobering, the reminder of how things could have been, if it hadn't been for one kindhearted shinobi.

Naruto cocked his head. "But if he was your teacher, then why didn't he know that you guys are the leaders of Akatsuki? He knew about all the other guys."

It was something Konan had often wondered herself. Ame, of course, was shrouded in secrecy, so it made sense that Jiraiya-sensei wouldn't know of their takeover. But Nagato often had the Deva Path – Yahiko's body – out of the village on Akatsuki business. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that Jiraiya-sensei might have at least heard something.

She ended up shrugging in answer.

Naruto's eyes seemed to dim a little, and Konan wondered what he had seen in that little gesture that would distress him so. But then he perked up, shooting her a hopeful glance.

"Well, we can always just ask him, right?" Naruto asked cheerfully. "When I send him and Tsunade-baa-chan a message, let them know that we're alive. They're probably going crazy with worrying so much by now."

Konan hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Her mind raced, trying to find a way to tell their newest resident hothead that the answer to that not-quite-request would be a most emphatic _no._

* * *

Tobi peered around the corner, fascinated by the way Itachi-san was just staring at his little brother's cell door. Just behind him, Deidara-senpai was spying as well – he hadn't believed Tobi when he told the bomber what Itachi-san was doing.

But Tobi wasn't a liar; Tobi was a good boy.

' _Maybe he really will stay there until Leader-sama says he can go in…'_ Tobi thought, remembering his talk with Zetsu-san earlier in the day.

Deidara-senpai snorted. "What's that damn Uchiha up to?"

Casting his eyes up toward the blond head hovering above his own, Tobi's brows creased in an unseen frown. Wasn't it obvious?

Upon asking this question aloud, however, Tobi received a hard cuff to the head and a scornful, "How the hell is it obvious, un?"

"Itachi-san is guarding little Sasuke-san!" Tobi explained. "Itachi-san takes his job as a big brother very seriously."

Really, it was very simple.

"I don't think that's it," Deidara-senpai told him. "He looks nervous."

Tobi wasn't entirely sure how his senpai could tell that – Itachi-san's face was very hard to read – but he trusted the bomber's words. Deidara-senpai hated Itachi-san a _lot_ , after all, so he had spent a lot of time glaring at the Uchiha. It was understandable that he'd be able to see the differences in Itachi-san's expressions. And if he said that Itachi-san looked nervous, then Itachi-san probably _was_ nervous; which meant it was up to Tobi to help him!

Decision made, Tobi rounded the corner, scuttling up to the younger man's side. "Are you okay, Itachi-san?" He asked in a loud whisper.

Blank black eyes flicked sideways to peer at him. Tobi easily read (guessed) the question there, and he smiled comfortingly (forgetting that Itachi couldn't even see it past his mask). "You've been standing here for a long time, Itachi-san. Deidara-senpai and I were wondering if there was anything we could do to help." He rocked back and forth on his heels, hands clasped behind his back.

"Oi!" Deidara-senpai appeared from behind the wall, pointing accusingly at Tobi. "Don't go making things up on your own! As if I would be worried about the shitty Uchiha!"

"Eh? But Deidara-senpai, I never said anything about being worried~" Tobi said teasingly. "You came up with that part all on your own."

The blond faltered in his indignant march forward. Tobi, smiling like a loon inside his mask, had no time to crow about his triumph over his senpai, because Deidara resumed movement, rushing forth with murderous rage written all over him.

Gulping, Tobi barely managed to say, "Ah, Itachi-san! Don't be sad, I'm sure everything will go great!" and then he was running for his life, a blond bomber intent on strangling him only a step behind.

Watching his ridiculous comrades disappear around the corner, Itachi's lips twitched upwards. He wondered if Tobi would ever realize that escaping the people he pissed off could be so much more simple if he would only remember to phase through the walls.

* * *

It was a very different Konoha, Sakura decided, when Naruto and Sasuke weren't present. She had gotten used to their presence again, and it was as though the last three years of loneliness hadn't happened.

Currently, Sakura was meandering her way around the village, trying to comprehend what her shishō had just told her. It was a bitter pill to swallow, that her two boys were in trouble and once again, Sakura could do nothing to help them. What had all her hard work over the past few years been for, if she couldn't even use the results to take care of her team?

"Hey, Sakura!"

The familiar voice had Sakura pausing before she turned around to greet the person who owned it. _It wasn't his fault… It wasn't his fault… It wasn't his fault…_

Blue-white hair and violet eyes met Sakura's gaze when she turned. Hōzuki Suigetsu, who had been with Naruto and Sasuke when the Akatsuki took them, stood before her, face unusually downcast. Her anger faded at the sight; how was he supposed to have done anything against two of the strongest S-class nukenin in the Elemental Nations? If her troublesome boys hadn't been able to get themselves away, what could Suigetsu have done?

Her face softened, and the ex-Kiri/Oto nin quirked a small smile. "I'm really sorry about your teammates, Sakura." He said, sounding as earnest as she'd ever heard him.

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "It wasn't your fault, idiot," she told him. "Those two boys are trouble magnets." And she was never there when they needed her.

How pathetic.

"Oi, oi, don't look like that!" Suigetsu nudged her in the side. "What've you got to feel guilty about, huh? You weren't even there!"

He meant well, but the words just send another stab of guilt and self-recrimination through her. "I know," Sakura said quietly. "That's the problem. I'm never there."

She hadn't been there when Sasuke and Naruto almost killed each other at the Valley of the End. She hadn't been there for a single one of the infrequent meet-ups that the boys had arranged during their three-year separation. And she hadn't been there when Naruto left Konoha to help Sasuke take down Orochimaru.

It all left her feeling just a little bit bitter.

"Aw shit, Sakura," Suigetsu said, looking supremely awkward. "I didn't mean to make you feel even worse. I just wanted to apologise for losing them."

The kunoichi quirked her lips up, pushing her negative thoughts to the back of her mind. That was all in the past; right now, Sakura was determined to be useful to her boys. Those idiots needed to learn that she had grown too – she wasn't going to be left out anymore. And what better way to prove herself, than to figure out a way to get them out of the clutches of the Akatsuki?

Sakura didn't know how long Naruto and Sasuke had left to live, or if they could trust the message that Kisame and Itachi had given to Suigetsu to bring back, but that only increased her drive.

Team Seven was going to be reunited, even if Sakura had to storm the Akatsuki hideout herself and drag her boys home.


	4. Lies Upon Lies

Sasuke estimated that it had been a little over a day when the door to his cell opened, and That Man walked in, as casual as you please. Rage rushed through his veins instantly; he damned the restraints keeping him and his chakra locked in place. He had the perfect opportunity to avenge his clan right in front of him, and Sasuke was once again unable to act.

Itachi closed the door behind him, walking to the midway point between it and Sasuke. Dark black eyes stared at him, into him, penetrating the crimson haze that had washed over Sasuke's vision the moment his brother appeared. Sasuke met that steady gaze with his own burning one, praying to a god that he didn't believe in that the day had finally come where looks could kill.

Needless to say, he was disappointed.

"You're looking well, Otōto."

Sasuke snarled.

His brother appeared unimpressed. "Konan says that you have been informed of the conditions for your release."

Oh no. Absolutely fucking not.

Itachi nodded, seeing the realisation dawn on him. "Indeed. I will be the one to explain to you the motivation behind the Akatsuki's recent actions."

This had to be a joke. The universe was pulling yet another cruel prank on him, surely. There was no way in _hell_ that Sasuke was going to listen to a thing that came out of That Man's mouth. He was at the top of the 'Not to be Trusted' list (he was actually at the top of most of Sasuke's internal lists; none of them were very pleasant).

"Otōto, I am aware that you do not trust me, but it would be to your benefit if you listened to what I am about to tell you."

He scoffed in response.

Itachi sighed. "You will not see Naruto-kun until you have heard what you need to hear, Sasuke. Even if it is coming from my mouth, I would have thought that enough for you to at least pretend."

' _I don't want to be lectured about friendship by_ _you_ _!'_ Sasuke very nearly screamed it aloud. How _dare_ he? The utter hypocrisy about set his insides aflame.

Sasuke increased the intensity of his glare, hoping that his traitorous brother would take the hint. He refused to say a word to the man. _Why did it have to be him?_

"If you're not going to talk to me, Otōto, then I will simply take the opportunity to tell you what you need to know." Itachi's face was as unreadable as ever, and his tone wasn't much better.

Sasuke just continued to glare. Fine. Itachi was obviously going to do whatever the fuck he wanted. It didn't matter. Sasuke wasn't interested in what he had to say. He would just sit here and glare death at the missing-nin, and hope for spontaneous combustion.

* * *

His little brother glared so adorably.

Itachi knew he was slightly biased when it came to Sasuke, and that the youngest Uchiha was probably very intimidating in anyone else's eyes, but to him, his baby brother would always be the most precious thing in the universe.

He wished he didn't have to do this.

Sasuke wasn't ever supposed to know the truth behind the massacre. He was supposed to grow strong enough to kill Itachi, and therefore prove that he was capable of protecting himself against Danzō. But now Pein had a plan. And that plan was enough to convince Itachi, for the first time in eight years, to alter his own.

"I lied to you, Otōto."

Itachi figured that he if was going to do this, he may as well start out strong. And it had worked; Sasuke's glare flickered for but a second.

"I'm well aware of that," he spat. "The first eight years of my life were a lie."

The ache in Itachi's soul deepened. His greatest regret was without doubt making his baby brother believe that Itachi didn't love him. As if there were any world where that was at all possible. Sasuke was everything to Itachi, and that wouldn't ever change.

"No, Sasuke. I'm talking about that night. I lied to you about why."

And god but Itachi had underestimated just how much it would hurt. Looking down into Sasuke's chubby face and reading the complete and utter disbelief, the _'Just for that? You killed them all, just for_ _that_ _?'_. It was a minor moment of that night, all things considered, but for some reason it haunted Itachi like nothing else.

Sasuke's glare faltered even more. Itachi was willing to bet that it was an involuntary reaction, although one he was hoping for. If he could just make his brother _listen_ , could make him believe the truth that Itachi had worked so hard to bury, then maybe they could fix the broken world they were currently inhabiting.

"I didn't kill them to test myself. I killed them because they were planning to take over the village. I killed them, because in the end, I've always loved you the most, little brother."

* * *

Being told that your entire life's purpose, your reason for breathing, was founded entirely upon a lie was-

Well, it was something. Sasuke couldn't say for sure, because he wasn't sure of anything anymore. Once again, Itachi had ripped the rug out from under his feet, robbing Sasuke of any sense of security he may have had. For the entirety of his life, he had been ignorant to the reality of his world.

He fought back a sob. Itachi was gone, Sasuke was alone in his cell, but he still felt that giving voice to the whirlwind of emotion racketing around in his chest would be an indication of submission – of defeat.

It took longer than Sasuke was comfortable admitting, for him to ride out that whirlwind. He sat there with his eyes closed, taking in one deep breath at a time, trying to physically exhale all of the rage, and betrayal, and confusion (and the _grief_ ; oh god, Sasuke hadn't allowed himself to truly feel the grief for his entire clan since that first year after the massacre. Now, he felt almost crippled by the strength of it). When he finally opened his eyes again, he felt…

Drained. Empty. _Hollow_.

"Why…" He whispered it, almost without conscious thought. "Why did you have to-"

He cut himself off, bodily jerking his head back as if that would halt the flow of words. Sasuke didn't even know who he was talking to: Itachi, who insisted on twisting Sasuke this way and that, turning his world upside down and inside out on his own whim. Or was he talking to his parents, who had been planning a fucking _coup_?

Sasuke- okay, well, he hadn't ever had the clearest of thinking processes. His desire for vengeance – the desire that Itachi had basically _implanted_ in him – had always been a large part of any decision he ever made, and he'd felt himself becoming colder and darker because of it.

Now, he thought that that tendency may have been inherited.

_What_ had the clan been _thinking_?

There was no way they could have succeeded; aside from the fact that it was one clan against the rest of the village, what had they been planning to do about Sarutobi? The old man wasn't called the God of Shinobi for nothing. Had- they couldn't have been intending on having _Itachi_ do it, surely?

Then again, Sasuke thought darkly, Itachi hadn't massacred their entire clan alone either, had he?

The revelation that there was somebody so dangerous out there that an entire group of S-Class missing-nin needed the assistance of the five great shinobi villages to get rid of was beyond daunting. It was horrifying (as equally as horrifying as knowing that the leaders of Konoha had decided that massacring an entire clan was acceptable problem solving). Sasuke badly wanted to believe that Itachi was once again lying to him – his older brother was more than accomplished at that, and it wasn't like Sasuke had ever been able to _tell_.

But deep down in his gut, down in the same place that had always whispered undeniable truths to him, the same place that told him he would never be rid of Naruto or Sakura or Kakashi, that he didn't _want_ to be; Sasuke knew that this time, it was real.

And if he wanted the world to remain intact, he would need to work alongside the one person he hated more than anybody.

* * *

The cave system that the Akatsuki had taken over was more extensive than Naruto had first thought; he'd been wandering around for what felt like hours, and he was pretty sure he hadn't even covered half of it. He was just lucky that it was relatively straightforward, otherwise he would have gotten lost immediately.

(He had totally gotten lost immediately. He'd just decided that if he kept walking, he was bound to run into either a person or an exit, whichever came first).

"Could really do with some ramen though…" Naruto mumbled mournfully. He patted his stomach, which had started growling some time ago. "I wonder if they've got any up there."

Naruto tipped his head back, staring at the black rock above him as if he could see all the way to the upper levels where the Akatsuki kept their food storage. It didn't seem like the sort of thing that a group of criminals would keep in their secret base in the middle of the wilderness, but who knew. Ramen was a dietary staple, after all.

It was while he was ruminating on the probability of this that he ran into Uchiha Itachi.

Literally. He'd turned around to see if retracing his steps would do any good, and the guy was _right_ freaking behind him.

" _Fucking-_ what the hell, dude? Why were you standing so close?!"

Naruto clapped a hand over his racing heart, scowling at the missing-nin. Itachi just looked blank, as usual. Somehow, his blank was even more infuriating than Sasuke's blank.

"I came to guide you back to the upper levels."

"That's not an answer!"

Huffing indignantly, Naruto nonetheless followed behind as Itachi turned on his heel. He was _really_ hungry, and arguing with Sasuke's murderous older brother wasn't that high on his priority list.

Still…

"Did you tell him?"

Having already heard the entire tale for himself, Naruto had been waiting on tenterhooks all day for somebody to tell him how it went. As much as he wanted to be there for Sasuke, Konan had threatened to literally bury him in paper until Sasuke was released from his cell if he tried to burst in there while Itachi was speaking with him.

(She'd done it too, just to show him she could. Encased him from head to toe in so much paper that Naruto could feel nothing around him but Konan's chakra signature. As soon as she let him out, he'd asked if she would be one of his sensei).

Itachi didn't even pause. "I did."

"And? How did he take it?"

"Better than expected."

Naruto wanted to shake him. He skittered around in front of the missing-nin, trying to peer into his face and walk backwards at the same time. It didn't help at all; Itachi was about as expressive as a damn wall.

"You're not trying to tell me he took it _well_ , are you? Coz there's no freaking way that's true, dattebayo!"

Itachi shook his head. "Not well. Just not as horribly as I thought he might."

Seriously, it was like pulling teeth from fucking _Tora_.

"Was he _upset_?" Naruto pressed, finally coming to a halt and forcing Itachi to as well. He stared intently up into the elder Uchiha's eyes. "Or was he angry? Sasuke doesn't know how to process multiple emotions, you know, so I gotta know which one came out on top!"

It took a few moments, during which Naruto just about exploded with impatience, but Itachi finally answered, blinking like he was surprised.

"Upset." He said. "Sasuke was upset. He didn't want to believe me."

Naruto could only imagine.

He groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Teme's upset and he's all alone with his thoughts. Are you sure I can't see him yet?"

"You will have to ask Leader about that," Itachi said, once again starting to move. "I did manage to get through everything in that one sitting, so maybe he will allow it."

Oohhhhh _man._

Having the truth about his family dumped on him while simultaneously being told that his biggest enemy needed his help would have rocked Sasuke like nothing else. Seriously, what were these people trying to do to the guy?

By the time the two of them finally returned to the main cave, Naruto was just about dancing out his pants with impatience.

"Pein!" He called out as soon as he set eyes on that bright orange hair. "Can I go see Sasuke now?"

Before Pein could answer, an embarrassingly loud growl echoed through the chamber. Naruto clamped his hands over his stomach, grinning sheepishly.

"And do you guys keep any ramen in this place?"

* * *

When the door to his cell opened once again, almost twelve hours after Itachi'd left, Sasuke didn't even raise his head. With the restraints still on, he couldn't even feel the chakra of the people coming and going; he just assumed it was Konan again, here to feed him his rations bars and water.

It was humiliating, but she was at least practical about it, and never said a word beyond greetings and farewells. At least they were feeding him.

"Um, teme?"

Sasuke's head snapped up.

"Naruto?"

He hated the blatant relief in his voice, but _god_. Seeing those bright blue eyes, that stupid whiskered face-

Something that'd been clenched _tight_ in Sasuke's gut finally loosened. After all the turmoil and uncertainty that Itachi had subjected him to, having the immovable rock that was Uzumaki Naruto standing in front of him was nothing short of a miracle.

_Not_ that Sasuke was ever going to tell the dobe that.

He might've been able to tell though, because as he came closer, Sasuke could see a disgusting sort of gentleness in his eyes. He jerked his eyes away, clenching his fists. _Weak_. After all this time, he was still so weak that the simple presence of his best friend almost immediately made him feel better.

Getting down on his knees and crossing his arms over Sasuke's lap, Naruto grinned up at him. "Shit's getting crazy, huh, teme?"

_Ha._

Sasuke barked out a laugh. "Understatement of the century, dobe."

There was silence for a few moments. It was obvious to Sasuke that Naruto was working up to asking him about his _feelings_ ; the fact that he was probably going to _answer_ made him want to punch himself in the face. Really, what the fuck had this guy done to him?

"Ne, Sasuke." When he eventually spoke, Naruto's voice was quiet. "Pein- that's the leader of the Akatsuki – told me the truth about the massacre. And your crazy ancestor."

"Hn."

"It's- I'm really sorry. About your family, and that Itachi was the one who told you."

"Hn."

"You gonna be okay?"

Despite himself, Sasuke snorted. "I'll be okay, dobe. I got over it once, I can get over it again."

"What?" Naruto pinched his thigh, frowning. "Sasuke, you liar. You've never gotten over anything ever in your entire life."

Unfortunately, that was true. But lying and repressing every inch of the confusion and agony that was currently wracking his scarred heart was far preferable to actually dealing with it. Sasuke had barely able to acknowledge the fact that Naruto was his friend, all those years ago at the Valley of the End; the memory of leaning in so close that he could see every individual eyelash and saying _'I'll come back. When I've learned everything I can, when I'm_ _strong_ _– I'll come back'_ had haunted him for months.

Acknowledging something as enormous as the eruption-waiting-to-happen in his chest…

Even with how far he'd come, Sasuke wasn't certain he could do it.

Luckily, Naruto knew him far better than he should probably be comfortable with.

"It's okay, teme, you don't have to sort it out right now. I guess I just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna go crazy or anything."

As enticing as the idea of chopping off the heads of those three old bats back in Konoha was, Sasuke did, regrettably, have his priorities straight.

"I'm not ruling it out," he said, tipping his head back and staring blankly at the ceiling. "But for now… I think we've got a bigger problem to deal with."

"…yeah." Naruto's voice was suspiciously thick, with what sounded suspiciously like pride. He shifted on the ground, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's calves and squeezing. "Nobody ever told me I'd have to figure out how to kill a dead man. Gods, Sasuke, your family is fucked up."

Sasuke snorted again. Wasn't that the truth.


End file.
